Military Land Abuse
STOP THE BOMBING!
At Home & Abroad!
It is a gross understatement to say that the military abuses the land. I can think of no greater sacrilege or desecration of the ‘aina than to bomb it. But that is what is being done, and has been done, for decades here on Hawaii Island by the U.S. military. The land of aloha is abused as a bomb training ground for exporting death and destruction abroad.
A military Environmental Impact Statement reports that up to 14.8 million live-rounds are fired annually at the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) located in the heart of Hawaii Island. The live-fire includes everything from small arms to artillery shells, rockets, 500 pound bombs, etc. All branches of the military – Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, plus national guard units and troops from foreign countries — train at the 134,000-acre Pohakuloa base. Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly called drones, increasingly used in deadly attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, also train on Hawaii Island.
There are 57 known sites on Hawaii Island, totaling more than 400 square miles, that may contain live arms and other military toxins and should be considered military hazard areas. Most, if not all, of these sites remain unfenced and with no signage of possible hazards. Civilian housing is currently being built on former bombing ranges without people being properly informed and the areas cleaned up. People have been killed and injured by exploding ordnance on Hawaii Island. Some unexploded ordnance (UXO) can even be set off accidentally by cell phones. Live military ordnance has been found off Hapuna Beach, in Hilo Bay, and on residential and school grounds around this island.
One of the most striking examples of military abuse concerns secret bomb tests conducted from 1962-1973, the details of which were kept hidden till the early years of the 21st century. If you want to learn more, google “Project 112/SHAD year 2010.” These bomb tests involved chemical and biological weapons used on land and sea, at a host of sites, including Hawaii Island. Tests of Sarin Nerve Gas (Agent GB), that can kill in doses 1/50 of a drop, were conducted at a number of sites including the Waiakea Forest Reserve, which is the watershed for Hilo. Numerous reports claim drums of military chemical/biological agents are buried in the forest.
All of these chemical/biological weapons tests were taking place at the same time period the Army was secretly test firing Depleted Uranium (DU) radiation spotting rounds at Pohakuloa. How much depleted uranium has been fired at PTA is an open question. To date, there has been insufficient air monitoring done to determine the full extent of radiation contamination on Hawaii island and the military is stonewalling community concerns for comprehensive independent testing and transparency.
The big question is what future generations will learn decades from now about secret weapon testing taking place today. One thing we know for sure, it’s time to stop the abuse of the ‘aina. It’s time to stop the Bombing at home and abroad! It’s time for military clean up not build up. It’s time to demilitarize Hawaii and return the land to the rightful owners –the independent Nation of Hawaii, which is presently under U.S. military occupation.
U.S. Military:
Land “Stewards” from Hell!
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, etc. 5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org
Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Oct. 8, 2010 – 473rd week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
